# Fua'amotu International Airport (TBU)

> Nuku'alofa, TO · IATA: TBU · ICAO: NFTF · Medium Airport · Cargo Hub

## Quick Facts

| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| IATA | `TBU` |
| ICAO | `NFTF` |
| City | Nuku'alofa |
| Country | TO |
| Type | Medium Airport |
| Elevation | 38 m |
| Cargo | ✅ |
| GPS | -21.24120, -175.14999 |

## Description

On the south side of Tongatapu, 21 kilometres from the capital Nuku'alofa, Fua'amotu International Airport (IATA: TBU, ICAO: NFTF) is the Kingdom of Tonga's only international airport and its single air freight gateway. It is run by state-owned Tonga Airports Limited and sees no dedicated freighters: cargo travels in the holds of passenger flights operated by Air New Zealand to Auckland, Fiji Airways to Nadi and Virgin Australia to Australia. Exports are dominated by perishables — squash pumpkins, vanilla, fresh fish and root crops — so cold chain and packing decide whether a consignment arrives saleable. The bitumen runway is approved for the Boeing 767-300ER with restrictions and rated ICAO rescue category 8, with a project to reach category 9 and an announced upgrade package in the order of USD 17 million. Domestically, Lulutai Airlines links the outer islands of Vava'u (VAV), Ha'apai (HPA) and 'Eua (EUA), again on a belly-load basis. Heavy, oversized or containerised freight goes through the seaport of Nuku'alofa, while air freight from Europe or Asia is normally consolidated at Auckland (AKL) or Nadi (NAN) and flown on from there. Customs clearance for imports and exports takes place at the airport, but with limited frequencies and small holds shippers should plan for modest volumes per flight.

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*Freight Academy — Airport Profile: [https://www.freight-academy.com/en/information/airports/fuaamotu-international-airport-tbu](https://www.freight-academy.com/en/information/airports/fuaamotu-international-airport-tbu)*

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